


Quality Time

by Miracule



Category: Sneaky Pete - Fandom
Genre: A classic combo, Alcohol and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-11-01 08:43:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10918341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miracule/pseuds/Miracule
Summary: A conman and a cop walk into a bar.





	Quality Time

**Author's Note:**

> Help...

“Hey, Joe!” Taylor’s voice cracks through the general din of the crowd. “Can you put on ESPN?” 

Marius bristles. He doesn’t understand why men like Taylor have to be _so fucking loud_. It reminds him of how he used to feel living with his mother—always waiting for the other shoe to drop. He generally kept his nose clean and didn’t get into trouble at school but that never stopped her from busting into his room in the middle of the night to berate him.

No one else seems fazed, though, and Joe the bartender is already flipping channels. 

“Thanks, buddy. Hope you weren’t invested in that.” 

Marius looks dazedly toward the TV. For the past twenty minutes or so he hasn’t been paying any attention to what’s up there. He watches as the super-saturation of _Family Feud_ gives way to muted hues of _SportsCenter_. 

Marius props an elbow on the bar and takes another sip of the beer he’s been nursing since he sat down.

He tries thinking a little more about how he’s going to get into the car, but Taylor is already talking his ear off again. That kid is really something else. Marius doesn’t know how anybody can stand him. Of course, judging by Taylor’s exploits, girls don’t just stand him, they fucking love him.

Well, Marius isn’t convinced, and he figures that if anybody is going to break his cover, it’s going to be Taylor. He’ll just snap one day. He’ll snap and break the stupid kid’s nose.

As if on cue, Taylor throws an arm round his neck and jerks him sideways, nearly toppling them both. Marius has to grab onto the sticky edge of the bar for balance.

“This fucking guy,” Taylor growls into his ear. “I missed you, Pete.”

Marius forces something that resembles a smile. “Yeah, I missed you too,” he mutters, and he wonders if Taylor—being a cop and all—can sense his discomfort or is just really, really good at ignoring it. Taylor’s hand lingers, heavy on his back, even as he pulls away.

“You okay, man?”

“Yeah, I told you, I’m fine. Just a little on edge, I guess. Nothing a beer can’t fix, huh?” He peppers his response with a little laughter and prays that it comes across as marginally human and normal. He’s never good at stringing lies together when he’s been drinking, so he doesn’t try to elaborate.

But before he can steer the conversation away from his general okay-ness, Taylor gives an exaggerated sigh.

“Nah, I mean, in general. You’ve been pretty quiet since you came back. I mean, I know...”

Marius stares hard at his beer.

“I know you don’t really wanna talk about what happened to you or why you came back and all, and that’s fine, but... You can talk to me, you know?” Taylor lowers his voice to a stage whisper, as if he’s offering Marius hard drugs instead of a heart-to-heart. 

It’s a sweet offer, considering that Taylor is one of the most cartoonishly straight men that Marius has ever had the pleasure of knowing. Still—and this is probably just drinking on an empty stomach fucking with his head—it strikes Marius that it’s been a matter of years since he’s truly opened up to another human being.

Eddie doesn’t count. He lies to Eddie and pretends to be fine because that’s what he’s always done and old habits die hard. 

“Thanks,” he says mechanically. “That means a lot. But...” He begins to feel prickly under Taylor’s gaze. “I don’t think I wanna get into it, ya know?” 

“Okay.”

“Sorry."

“It’s okay!” Taylor squeezes his arm briefly. “You do you.” An awkward silence lingers between them.

Unnerved, Marius chugs the rest of his drink. Before he knows what he’s saying, he’s asking Joe for another.

This is dangerous territory. Marius isn’t a complete lightweight but on the job, one beer is one too many, and he still needs to figure out a way to get into Taylor’s car. Still, he’s supposed to be playing Pete Murphy reuniting with his long-lost BFF. Pete would have another drink, right?

Taylor happily follows his lead and orders a beer for himself.

Marius—perennially anxious, even when playing a part—apologizes for being out of sorts.

Maybe that isn’t something Pete would do, because Taylor looks at him like he’s grown a second head. “I said it’s fine, man! We all go through it. It’s life."

It is life.

In fact, that’s all Marius’ life has ever been.

He takes a long swig from his beer as he considers what to do next. Taylor is relaxed and off-guard but there just isn’t a good excuse to get into that damn trunk. Still, as long as Taylor’s in here, he’s not out there finding his criminal not-cousin’s fake ID. Marius will just have to bide his time.

He watches Taylor watching _SportsCenter_ and wonders how it might feel to live without the sensation of hurtling toward an invisible precipice. Must feel pretty good.

Still, the kid’s got his own problems. Everybody has. Marius tells himself that if he lasts any longer in this family, he’ll have to teach Taylor a few simple card tricks; something good for parties. 

It’s not much, but Taylor’s girls might like that kind of stuff.

 

x


End file.
